


Dear Arya,

by TheReluctantBadger



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Romance, F/M, Letters, Love Letters, Military, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23744677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheReluctantBadger/pseuds/TheReluctantBadger
Summary: Gendry has no idea when he is paired as a pen pal partner with SPC Arya Stark of the Royal Military that it will be the most important letter he has ever written.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 47
Kudos: 100





	Dear Arya,

**Author's Note:**

> Yep. Another WIP. Yay me.
> 
> But no, I'm actually so excited to get started on this one! It likely won't see much progress until closer to this summer, but I wanted to go ahead and get this first chapter up to let everyone know that IM DOIN IT!
> 
> A million thanks to Christina/greeneyedwildthing for this prompt idea and for being a huge supporter in it!

****0000****

He whispered a curse as he pulled the mail out of the box and saw the packet. He had completely forgotten about that. 

Scrunching his brow, Gendry flipped through the rest of the envelopes that the mailbox had contained. Nothing but junk and bills, as usual, so he closed the small brass door and locked it before turning to the stairs that lead further up into the flat building.

His feet carried him subconsciously upwards as he pulled the glossy colored envelope back to the front of the stack.  _ Serving Soldiers _ read the organization name across the front, along with a logo showing a child handing a gift to The Warrior, and Gendry started to wonder how on earth that he could have let Milo talk him into signing up for the stupid program in the first place.

Being his brother Edric’s son, and the absolute contrast of anything Baratheon, Gendry had always found it hard not to indulge Milo in anything that he set himself too, whether it was taking him to the park to look for interesting rocks, or sitting inside on rainy afternoons and reading him book after book about the frogs of the world. But evidently that also included letting his nephew sign him up for a school project that his class was involved in.

Gendry groaned at that thought, huffing out as he reached the landing for his floor. It suddenly clicked in his head. The school project, the logo showing a child; this was a program for children. And here he was, a 29 year old man, being expected to send something to a soldier. This was just getting better and better. Oh lucky him...

His keys were slid into the door as soon as he reached it. Pressing it open into the darkness, Gendry flipped on only the kitchen light and tossed the stack of mail on the small table before kicking his grease covered boots off on the tiled floor. He was very much content with forgetting the packet, or straight up tossing it in the bin.

Soon his heated leftovers were warmed and dropped into the table beside the ignored mail, and with a cold beer to join it, Gendry sat down to tuck in. Leftover pasta never tasted quite as good to Gendry as when it was fresh, but at least it was food, and he wasn’t about to spend more money on another meal, so he choked it down and did his best to ignore the bright envelope that sat inches away.

Guilt was setting in, though, and with every bite it got worse. Would someone be expecting him to send something? Had a soldier been told that a kid would be corresponding with them? It formed a knot in his chest that sank down into his gut. That was about the worst thing that someone could do, be expected to do something for a soldier and then just...not do it...for no reason at all… Gendry may be a scrooge sometimes, but he wasn't that horrible. He groaned and raked his hand through his hair before dropping it to grab the envelope. He could at least read it before he made up his mind, he supposed.

The way he tore into the top of the packet was anything but neat, and he half surprised himself when the papers were pulled out without any damage being done. Some of the contents happened to be inserts for other organizations and charity opportunities. Those were dropped directly into a trash pile. But he kept out the important looking papers and laid them out on the table beside his bowl.

_ Hello, valued participant! _ One of them started off with, making him snort through the mouthful of noodles.  _ Thank you for your dedication and support that you have pledged to those who serve to protect our country! The men and women who fight to defend Westeros are often faced with stressful situations far from home…  _ He skimmed down the rest, catching the usual jargon that was typically found in form letters until he got closer to the bottom where the information that he wanted could be found.

_ The information provided in this packet will contain the name and personal profile of the serviceman/servicewomen who you will be writing your letters to. _

'Ah, so it's a pen pal program.' He lifted his eyes in mild surprise. He had been worried that there would be more to it, like a whole damn care package for him to send or something.

_ You will also find their current mailing address. Please keep in mind that it may take several days or even weeks for some letters to reach them and you. Be patient! _

Another snort was made into his beer bottle. Gendry dropped the paper and began to flip through the others. One of them was a How To guide for writing letters, listing tips like "Talk about normal everyday things, like you would with a friend!" and "Please refrain from asking personal questions regarding their location or job."

'Like how many people they've killed?' Gendry chuckled to himself. The next paper had the personal profile, though, and he pulled it closer to read.

_ SPC Arya Stark _

_ -hometown is Winterfell in The North _

_ -loves animals _

_ -loves to cook _

_ -comes from a large family with one sister and four brothers _

One of his hands raised to stroke at his facial stubble. He was almost surprised that his person was a female. But, then again, what did he know about girls in the military? He sat the paper down and went to grab for another, finding that the only item left on the table was a pre-addressed and pre-stamped envelope for him to enclose his first letter in.

"Great." he sighed into his empty bottle. "Guess I have to."

After setting his dishes in the sink and dropping his bottle into the trash bin, Gendry shuffled through into the living room. A single lamp was clicked on beside his recliner, giving just enough light for Gendry to paw through the stack of notebooks and colored papers that Milo used for his drawings. A brief smile crossed Gendry's face at the thought of telling his nephew that he had sent the letter that he had signed Gendry up for. Milo would be so happy. Helping people always made the kid happy. What could it hurt taking five minutes out of his evening to jot down something?

Finally, Gendry managed to pull out a notebook that was a little less filled than the rest. He wasn't even sure what was making him want to write this damn thing right away. Perhaps it was the thought of pleasing Milo, or maybe just the knowledge that if he put it off for another time then he would truly forget all about it.

He returned to the table with the notepad, now opened to a blank page, and one of the kitchen drawers produced a pen that still held a little ink in it. 'How long has it even been since I've written a letter by hand? You'd think they'd just do email now.'

Sitting down and pulling the notebook in front of him caused a freeze, though. Literally, Gendry could not for the life of him think of what to say. His lips opened and closed and he tapped the pen against the table, all the while staring at the wildly intimidating blank page. It was beginning to dawn on him just how long it had been since he had done it. What did people even say in letters anyways? Gendry groaned and grabbed a handful of hair, tugging it gently while he thought. It wasn't supposed to be this hard.

Finally, he figured he'd just start with the expected, and lowered his pen to the top of the page.

_ Dear SPC Arya Stark, _

He paused only long enough to grimace before ripping the page off and tossing it towards the trash bin. It didn't land inside, but Gendry was too busy tugging at his hair again to care. That one had looked too formal. Should he just go with her first name? Was that allowed? But then he reasoned that she was expecting a letter from a kid anyways, so it probably wouldn't hurt.

_ Dear Arya, _

Now what?

'Screw it.' Gendry thought, dropping his elbow hard on the table. It was getting late and he wanted a hot shower.

_ Sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't coming from a kid. I'm a 29 year old man who was talked into this "pen pal thing for kids" by my nephew. Hope that's ok. _

Gendry smirked and moved down to the next line.

_ But I do thank you for what you do. It can't be easy, especially being away from home. The papers that I got said that you're from The North. Can't say that I've been myself. Too cold for my bones. Hope you're somewhere that suits you. _

It was short, but Gendry couldn't think of anything else, and his hand was already beginning to cramp besides. So, he moved a few lines down.

_ Best regards, Gendry Waters _

****0000****

Arya groaned as the lifesaving breeze suddenly died. Snapping her head over to where the desktop fan had died, she reached across and hit it a couple of times, cursing under her breath until it finally started back up again. She groaned yet again and tilted her head back, letting the moving air brush over her neck. 

Staying another minute in that stuffy office made her want to shave her entire head and wear a bedsheet. Arya wanted nothing more than to get back to her bunk where there was at least an AC unit to blow in her face. At least then she could pretend that she had her window open back in Winterfell. 

But there were still two reports that needed typing before she could do that, and as soon as she dropped her hands back to the computer keyboard...the fan shut off again.

Before she could beat it into submission, however, there came a brief knock on the wall. “Mail’s in.” announced the spry young private that stepped around the corner to her makeshift office.

Arya gave a small smirk as he dropped the two envelopes on her desk before darting back down the hallway. They were immediately picked up to be examined. She knew without looking that one would be from Jon. Even from his station at The Wall he always wrote when he was able, and his name at the top left of one envelope proved her right. But the name atop the second one confused her. 

‘Gendry Waters? I don’t know a Gendry…’

She was halfway through opening the envelope when she suddenly remembered that thing that she had signed up for; something about pen pals with young kids. She smiled at that, an image coming to her mind of a cute little 7 year old using his best penmanship to write down his letter for her. This could be fun, she thought, a welcome distraction.

But then she unfolded the paper, and her eyebrows nearly touched her hairline. 

‘He’s 29?! His nephew….’ That was all it took for Arya to start laughing. The letter momentarily dropped on the desk, she had to pull down her sleeves to wipe away the tears that were rolling down her face. She had never met this man in her life, but here she was thanking the gods for the good laugh that she hadn’t had in so long.

As soon as she was able, she scooped the paper back up to continue reading. It was definitely short, the guy obviously saying no more than he had to. But then she got to the last couple of lines. If only he knew how relevant his words were. She decided then and there that, grown ass man or not, she was going to be writing him back.

_ Dear Gendry, _

_ I’m actually a little relieved that you’re an adult! Now I don’t have to censor what I say or dumb anything down. Thanks for your words. It means a lot to know that people appreciate what we do. _

_ I’m 25 myself and, yes, I do miss The North a lot. I’m stationed in Myr at the moment. I guess I can't say that it’s horrible, but it’s far from what I’m used to. Where are you from? Further south I assume? I spent some time in King’s Landing as a kid. _

Arya sat back and re-read what she had written. It was brief, like his was, but it was something. She hoped that he wouldn’t mind, and signed it at the bottom.

_ Hope you can write back! Being very honest here that I’d like to have this distraction. _

_ Sincerely, Arya _

**Author's Note:**

> No matter when you read this fic, please know that I will always love receiving comments! This library has no late fees!


End file.
